1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a currency receiving container. More particularly, the invention comprises a currency receiving container for use in conjunction with a currency accepting machine such as a gaming, vending or similar machine. The container may be removed from the currency accepting machine and interchangeably, selectively inserted into one of several other devices forming a tracking system. The currency container has a non-volatile memory device for retaining both temporary and permanent electronic records (i.e., data). The memory associated with the currency container is connected to a host machine through contact surfaces on an exterior surface of the currency container. In addition to the currency container, a mobile unit for moving multiple currency containers, a portable, hand-held receiving unit, a temporary storage facility and a docking station are provided. An audit trail of each container is maintained in the non-volatile memory throughout a valid life cycle of the container. At the conclusion of the valid life cycle, temporary portions of the data in the non-volatile memory are erased.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Certain activities, such as vending and gaming, are available to the public in commercial premises dedicated to these activities. These premises contain gaming machines which operate automatically when a patron inserts currency into the machine. Gaming machines tend to amass currency rapidly and must periodically be emptied.
In particular, gaming machines are available in large numbers in casinos. Large numbers of people enjoy using these machines, which may all be in use despite the number of machines available. To enable rapid reestablishment of operability after retrieval of currencies, gaming machines are generally provided with interchangeable, removable currency collection containers, or stackers or bill drops as they are sometimes called. Service personnel employed by the casino arrive at a gaming machine with an empty currency collection container, remove the full container, and insert the empty container. The full container is then taken to a counting facility for accounting and verification of its contents.
Many containers are often present simultaneously at the counting facility, and various strategies have heretofore been used to track which currency collection container is associated with which gaming machine. These strategies include using serial numbers affixed to the currency collection containers, either temporarily using paper or other removable tags, or permanently by printing serial numbers directly on the currency collection containers. In either case, these methods are prone to human error and mistake.
The casinos may easily fail to recover all the currencies theoretically present in a currency collection container. Such losses are typically due to one of two reasons. A currency collection container may have been improperly inserted into a gaming machine (i.e., misaligned) so that some collected currency has failed to enter the container. In this case, the currency may have remained within the interior of the gaming machine or may have been retrieved and pocketed by dishonest personnel servicing the machine. Other times dishonest personnel may have removed currency from within a currency collection container, even when the currencies had properly entered the container.
Although most casinos have automated systems utilizing one or more computers for calculating the total sum which theoretically has been amassed by the machines, these systems fall short of being able to pinpoint specific causes of loss. This is because large numbers of currency containers are received at the counting facilities, and it is difficult to identify which container is short of its calculated receipts. In other words, while it is possible to calculate that the overall sum of the collected currency falls short of the theoretical total, it is difficult or impossible to identify poorly installed currency collection containers or dishonest employees.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,209 for DISPENSING UNIT FOR PAPER CURRENCY, issued Aug. 10, 1993 to Peter Weigel, et al. teaches a currency cassette for dispensing currency from an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or the like. The WEIGEL, et al. cassette contains a memory device, but other than a cassette identification, no indication is made concerning any additional intended use or other types of information which could be stored in the memory device.
The currency container of the invention is adapted to receive, not dispense, currency or other paper documents. The memory device in the inventive currency container, in cooperation with several other sub-systems of the inventive tracking system, is designed to store an audit trail of date, time, and machine identification information clearly showing where the container has been and during what period of time it was inserted into each device. The memory device is capable of storing several other types of electronic information as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,550 for GAMING MACHINE PAYOUT DISPENSING SYSTEM AND METHOD, issued Oct. 3, 2000 to Raymond J. Heidel, et al. teaches a cassette for containing paper tokens for payout from a gaming machine. While the HEIDEL, et al. cassette is adapted for payout rather than receiving paper documents (i.e., currency, scrip, vouchers, paper tokens, coupons, etc.), there are some functions incorporated into their cassette that are analogous to the currency container of the present invention. The HEIDEL, et al. cassette includes a memory device adapted to connect through contacts on the cassette, to the gaming machine. The HEIDEL, et al. memory device is adapted to store a unique cassette ID as well as several other types of temporary information. The HEIDEL, et al. cassette is initialized at a docking station where such information as the paper token count, the paper token denomination and the date and time the cassette was loaded is written into its memory device.
In contradistinction, the currency container tracking system of the present utilizes a currency container adapted to receive currency or other paper documents (e.g., bills, coupons, paper tokens, etc.), not a cassette preloaded with paper documents to be dispensed. The instant invention also features a system for tracking currency containers from their initialization (i.e., clearing of all temporary data contained in their memory chips) until they are finally emptied, typically in a secure counting room, and their contents enumerated and/or verified. Each currency container receives a time stamp upon its initial insertion into a gaming machine, thus beginning a valid life cycle. Thereafter, each currency container is periodically time stamped while in a gaming machine so that once removed, the most recent date/time information corresponds closely to the actual removal date and time. The currency containers of the invention are typically transferred to a collection cart where the data contents of each container's memory device is verified. Continuous communication is maintained with the currency containers for the duration of their stay on the collection cart. Alternately, unscheduled pickups may be required from a gaming machine, and a portable unit for carrying one or more currency containers and having all the monitoring capabilities of the collection cart is provided. Also, a temporary storage rack is available to receive and monitor currency containers and hold them until the regular counting time when the secure vault will be available. Finally, a docking station is used to print a bar coded batch slip containing a complete audit trail showing dates and times a currency container was inserted in any of the various sub-system devices of the inventive system. Finally, temporary data from the currency containers is cleared thereby ending their valid life cycle.
Neither of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is, however, seen to anticipate or suggest the instant invention as claimed.